The Time Travel “Let’s experience 1905” was elaborated at the Tukums Museum in Latvia six years ago. It is a popular programme not only for local schools but also for others. Each year early December Grade 9 and 12 students and their history teachers participate in the illegal meeting in the park of Durbe Manor 1st and 2nd of December 1905, one of the most controversial events in the history of Latvia.
But the museum employees in charge of the programme soon noticed, that though the students like the outdoor activities, many of them don’t really understand the essence of the time. Therefore it was decided to analyse all the work done and look for improvements:
- The fact that the students often are quite well prepared in theory but not ready to “step into the shoes of someone else” in a Time Travel, led to more detailed research on everyday life and the planning of a new reference material for the students.
- Also to pay more attention to the study of the landscape, the buildings as well as their functions and try to capture an image when the place was full of life. This led to many questions and also gave some new ideas improving the scenario.
- The outcome of the programme depends on the way in which teachers understand the essence of the Time Travels and how they prepare the students. Therefore, the Tukums museum now organizes several seminars for teachers about the history of Tukums and neighbouring regions.
”I think the most important issue for developing Time Travels is training for leaders. The quality of the Time Travel depends on how well trained the leaders are, also in management, cooperation and communication. But the most important thing is how enthusiastic they are to enter another time period, to help somebody to interpret it and understand himself better.”
Agrita Ozola
Tukums, Museum, Latvia
